Ness Calls House Passage of Fair Pay Bills "Welcome Start to a New Year"

“In passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 11) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12) in the first week of the 111th Congress, the House of Representatives made a powerful statement that fair pay and anti-discrimination measures will be a priority this year. That is a most welcome start to a new year.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a modest and targeted measure that will restore the law to what it was before the U.S. Supreme Court’s damaging ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, which contradicted decades of case law and made it nearly impossible for victims of wage discrimination to seek justice in the courts. The Paycheck Fairness Act will close loopholes and help combat and undo discriminatory pay practices that plague our workplaces 45 years after the Equal Pay Act become law.

Women across the country have said loudly and clearly that ensuring equal pay for equal work must be a top priority. We urgently need the Senate to join the House in passing both these bills with no weakening amendments so they can quickly become law.

With families suffering terribly in this grim economy, and women still paid just 78 cents for every dollar paid to men, it is more important than ever that we end wage discrimination of all kinds. These bills are the next essential step in the fight for fair pay in America.”

The National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting fairness in the workplace, access to quality health care and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family. More information is available at www.NationalPartnership.org.